Contents

Comic Series

Pre-Apocalypse

Nothing much is known about Washington, D.C. before or as the outbreak began except that it is the capital of the United States of America and that the Alexandria Safe-Zone was organized by some members of the White House.

Post-Apocalypse

Washington, D.C. was once the capital of the United States of America and the seat of its government. The only major appearances of the city are seen during one of Glenn's scavenging runs, and during the group's trek to a nearby Safe-Zone in Virginia. Rick Grimes and his group made the fateful decision of going to D.C. following a devastating battle with zombies in a prison near Atlanta. Several members of the group perished on the trek; and their sacrifice seemed to be in vain, as D.C. was found to be as desolated and zombie-ridden as any other. Just before arriving and just after the group had brutally killed the Hunters, Eugene revealed that he was not a member of the government, but merely a high school science teacher.

While surveying the destroyed capital, Rick was told by Eugene that D.C. was doomed and had no hope of resettlement. A while after, the group was approached by an envoy from the Alexandria Safe-Zone. The safe-zone is based in the ruins of Alexandria, Virginia, now under the control of the General. The envoy accompanied the group to the safe-zone, but while en route, the group spotted a single flare in the sky. He calmed the group, saying the flare was probably fired by one of their runners within the city. Any ease they might have taken evaporated upon entering Alexandria, as they found the streets clogged with abandoned cars and its survivors besieged by a herd of roamers. Rick and his comrades disposed the marauding roamers, located the surviving runners, and they all evacuated the now decidedly unsafe area with no major casualties.

During a run into the city, Glenn and Heath discovered that a group of scavengers had been surviving in the city. However, that group was quickly dispatched when they attempted to enter the Safe-Zone. Their attempt to enter the Safe-Zone revealed that they were not satisfied scavenging through D.C. and that the city did not prove as a safe location to live in. Compared to other settings in The Walking Dead, such as the prison and the Greene family farm, Washington, D.C., holds much less relevance to the central story-line.